Dive Brief:
- Bristol Myers Squibb will invest $2.3 billion to build a high-tech medicine manufacturing campus in Houston as part of a larger domestic growth strategy, the New Jersey-based company said Aug. 10.
- The 600,000-square-foot campus will allow Bristol Myers Squibb to produce small molecules, biologics and antibody-drug conjugates for a range of diseases, and enough flexibility to reconfigure capacity in the future, according to a news release. It also will create about 500 jobs, such as technicians, production specialists, quality control and site leadership.
- The biopharmaceutical company was granted $4.89 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund for its project, according to the office of Gov. Greg Abbott. It also qualified for incentives under the Texas Jobs, Energy and Innovation program. Construction is expected to happen between 2027 and 2030.
Dive Insight:
The project, slated for Generation Park in Houston, is part of Bristol Myers Squibb’s larger plan to invest $40 billion in the United States through 2030 across research and development, technology and domestic manufacturing.
The company said it designed the Houston campus to be modular and multimodal, allowing for flexibility as demand shifts to certain medicines over others. It also has room for future advances in digital integration and automation, allowing the site to grow while remaining competitive.
“We're building the domestic manufacturing capabilities needed to deliver the next generation of medicines and support future scientific breakthroughs,” Chairman and CEO Christopher Boerner said in a statement. “Houston and the state of Texas offer the talent, infrastructure, and partnership needed to help bring that vision to life.”
In recent years, Houston has become one of the nation’s leading life sciences and biotech hubs, accounting for more than 1,100 industry-related companies in the region. The Generation Park commercial development spans 4,300 acres and includes pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and GHX, according to its website.
Bristol Myers Squibb operates eight major manufacturing facilities around the world, including in Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland, according to a 2025 securities filing. Four of its production sites are in the U.S., including in Devens, Massachusetts; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Summit, New Jersey; and Bothel, Washington.
Currently, the company said it works with a contract manufacturer in Texas for commercial and clinical trial products. The Houston campus will expand its operational footprint with a focus on digital advancements, incorporating “speed, quality and resilience into every stage of how medicines are made and delivered to patients,” Bristol Myers Squibb said.
The company did not disclose capacity estimates. Bristol Myers Squibb said it selected Texas over other states due to its emerging life sciences workforce, incentives, proximity to utilities and transportation infrastructure and overall pro-business environment.
“We are making pharmaceuticals in America again thanks to President Trump’s America First Trade Agenda,” U.S. Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement. “Bristol Myers Squibb’s $2.3 billion investment in Texas will create hundreds of high-paying jobs and strengthen our pharmaceutical supply chains, ensuring America is never reliant on foreign sources for critical medicines.”
Under the current administration, global drugmakers such as AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly are pledging to spend billions of dollars over the coming years to improve or expand their operational footprints in the U.S., in part to offset tariff pressures.
